Money Grows on Trees

Money Apple Tree

Have you ever bought an apple?

Money does grow on trees… it also grows on vines, underground, in a nesting box and is commonly disguised as weeds along the side of the road. Growing your own food is a little like printing your own money. Keeping a garden and fruit trees is a better investment than having a lot of money because food does not lose value due to inflation. An apple tree planted today will produce enough apples for you to eat for the rest of your life. The tree only grows in value over time because food prices will always rise. The same concept for planting and harvesting can also be applied for accumulating monetary wealth.

Ecclesiastes 3

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

Save for the future

Wealth and vegetables can only be harvested during specific times. Spring is the time for sowing and late-summer to early fall is a time of reaping. During the winter very few plants grow, so it is important to have saved enough for times when there are limited opportunities to harvest. Any crop harvested from the garden can be frozen, dried or canned for times when it is otherwise unavailable. It saves money to not have to purchase food outside of season.

Diversify your investment

If you plant a field of only tomatoes, you should expect to reap only tomatoes. Not every year will be optimal conditions for every plant. A wet summer mixed with blight will kill all of the tomatoes. I meet a lot of young people who invest all of their future earnings in student loans and if their life doesn’t go as planned, they are left without much fruit from their labors. With growing your own food, it is better to grow a large variety of vegetables, fruit trees and to have a few hens that will produce eggs even when the weather is bad. 

Plant trees whose shade you’ll never sit under

Soil and water are limited resources. Without quality topsoil and clean water, a plant will not grow. Soil has to be taken care of and nutrients must be replenished periodically. Spreading healthy compost and manure over a garden plot every year will give plants the best chance of growing. Invest in the future generation by keeping chemicals out of the water.  

Only when the last tree has died and the last river been poisoned and the last fish been caught will we realize we cannot eat money.  ~Cree Indian Proverb